Youths tap into entrepreneurial spirit

Eddie Jackson, 14, right, and his sister, Edijah Jackson, 15, show off their logo for their new businesses, Name Brand Fashions and Urban Style, Inc., during the Sheltering Arms Youth Entrepreneurship Program at the Tabernacle of Deliverance Outreach Ministries on West Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala, Fla. on Thursday, July 29, 2010. Participants concluded a six week program by delivering a presentation of the business they would like to start on their own to judges.

By Claire ParkerCorrespondent

Published: Friday, July 30, 2010 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, July 30, 2010 at 2:07 a.m.

The area's future business leaders are bringing frozen yogurt, music lessons and grocery delivery to Marion County. At least that is what a group of entrepreneurial young people hope to accomplish after taking a six-week summer course on self-employment.

His mother, Monique Gibson, said she is so glad her son went through the program.

"It is such a positive for our children, and hopefully they'll share their experience with their friends and more will participate next summer," she said.

The concept came about when founder Loretta Jackson noticed unemployment rates were on the rise for youths.

Summer employment for teens 16 to 19 has been on the decline since 2000, according to a report by the Department of Labor published in May. Which means teens have fewer places to turn for jobs when they graduate from high school, according to Jackson.

"After discovering that small businesses employ 70 percent of America's workforce, it just made sense to promote entrepreneurship as a viable alternative employment option. So, in essence, you can say that SAYEP was started as a direct response to youth unemployment," Jackson said.

She set up the program so students' brains - and stomachs - would be full each day.

The students were fed breakfast and lunch while being coached by local business leaders, university faculty and Jackson. They learned to write business plans, create budgets, develop marketing strategies and harness their own creativity.

"Some of the people who come to the chamber have not accomplished as much," said Jaye Baillie, president of the Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce, who was on hand Thursday to inaugurate the program and give the students some advice.

"We look forward to working with Sheltering Arms," she said. "At the end of the day, the very fabric of our community is woven by our small businesses."

The chamber made a big impression on many of the students, including Rashad Johnson, 17, who said the most significant impression came during a field trip to the organization.

"I found out what the chamber does and what great exposure it gives a business," he said.

The program was such a success, Jackson is already on track to do it again next year.

"The students' response and participation in the program was phenomenal," Jackson said.

And the support she received from sponsors including Wachovia and Kids Central Inc. allowed her to take a fledgling idea and turn it into a successful program underpinned with a sense of hope and pride.

"I wanted to show young people how to make jobs instead of asking or looking for a job," she said.

<p>The area's future business leaders are bringing frozen yogurt, music lessons and grocery delivery to Marion County. At least that is what a group of entrepreneurial young people hope to accomplish after taking a six-week summer course on self-employment.</p><p>The Sheltering Arms Youth Entrepreneurship Program guided a dozen students, mostly from the northwest side of Ocala, through the process of establishing their own viable company.</p><p>The program ended Thursday as the young people presented their business ideas to a panel of judges.</p><p>Juwan Burden, 14, smiled with his oversized $500 check in hand and was quietly confident in his "Juwan's Frozen Yogurt" mobile vending cart idea.</p><p>Burden, locked in a shy smile and decked out in his Sunday best, garnered the top prize at the competition.</p><p>Adrian Webster, a smartly dressed 14-year-old as lean as noted musician Miles Davis himself, came in second with his "Just the Beginning" music school for underprivileged youths.</p><p>Kavarri McChriston, 15, placed third with "Market Express," a grocery delivery service.</p><p>"I kind of thought I would win," Burden said.</p><p>His mother, Monique Gibson, said she is so glad her son went through the program.</p><p>"It is such a positive for our children, and hopefully they'll share their experience with their friends and more will participate next summer," she said.</p><p>The concept came about when founder Loretta Jackson noticed unemployment rates were on the rise for youths.</p><p>Summer employment for teens 16 to 19 has been on the decline since 2000, according to a report by the Department of Labor published in May. Which means teens have fewer places to turn for jobs when they graduate from high school, according to Jackson.</p><p>"After discovering that small businesses employ 70 percent of America's workforce, it just made sense to promote entrepreneurship as a viable alternative employment option. So, in essence, you can say that SAYEP was started as a direct response to youth unemployment," Jackson said.</p><p>She set up the program so students' brains - and stomachs - would be full each day.</p><p>The students were fed breakfast and lunch while being coached by local business leaders, university faculty and Jackson. They learned to write business plans, create budgets, develop marketing strategies and harness their own creativity.</p><p>"Some of the people who come to the chamber have not accomplished as much," said Jaye Baillie, president of the Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce, who was on hand Thursday to inaugurate the program and give the students some advice.</p><p>"We look forward to working with Sheltering Arms," she said. "At the end of the day, the very fabric of our community is woven by our small businesses."</p><p>The chamber made a big impression on many of the students, including Rashad Johnson, 17, who said the most significant impression came during a field trip to the organization.</p><p>"I found out what the chamber does and what great exposure it gives a business," he said.</p><p>The program was such a success, Jackson is already on track to do it again next year.</p><p>"The students' response and participation in the program was phenomenal," Jackson said.</p><p>And the support she received from sponsors including Wachovia and Kids Central Inc. allowed her to take a fledgling idea and turn it into a successful program underpinned with a sense of hope and pride.</p><p>"I wanted to show young people how to make jobs instead of asking or looking for a job," she said.</p>